Dr Phillip Lee, a Conservative MP, said photographs of historic child abuse
dating from the 1970s could be digitised by abusers 'to discourage victims
from coming forward'.

Mrs May said Dr Lee 'makes an important point and, if I may, I will look into the specific issue he has raised about the films or videos from the 1970s which have been digitised'.Photo: Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph

Paedophiles could be blackmailing victims into keeping silent by threatening to publish digitised images of their historic child abuse, an MP has said.

Dr Phillip Lee, a Conservative MP, said he was aware of "general concerns" that photographs of historic child abuse dating from the 1970s were being digitised by abusers “to discourage victims from coming forward”.

Dr Lee said the concerns had been raised by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, an arm of the National Crime Agency which hunts down online child abusers.

Dr Lee asked Theresa May, the Home secretary, if she was satisfied that the police and CEOP “have the necessary powers to protect victims from ongoing blackmail”.

He said: “In particular, I gather that there are general concerns around the potential use of photographs and films from the 1970s and ’80s which have now been digitised in order to discourage victims from coming forward.”